It's understandable if Oregon International Port of Coos Bay district taxpayers are more than a little confused right now, given the dizzying array of changes in staffing and Port Commission membership in recent weeks.

First to fall off the port merry-go-around was General Manager Allan Rumbaugh, who late last month, abruptly ended his 11-year tenure at the port helm. Rumbaugh's "resignation" came at the bidding of the port commissioners, who wouldn't explain their request.

Few explanations were forthcoming last week from the governor's office, either, when Ted Kulongoski announced he wouldn't be re-appointing commissioners Jon Barton and Ingvar Doessing to new terms. "We don't have specific criticism," a senior policy adviser to the governor said, adding only that the board chemistry "is not optimal."

Just a few days later - whoosh! With one fell swoop, the governor yanked the rest of the port commissioners out of their seats and quickly announced replacements, saying little more than, "... we need a fresh look ... ."

Because Coos Bay's is a state port, its board is appointed by the governor. Traditionally, the governor's office and the port publicly announce openings on the board and ask those interested in serving to apply for an appointment.

Not this time.

Those who will be charged with managing this multi-million-dollar agency were picked with no public notification. Instead, the governor's office schmoozed with some local movers and shakers, got some suggestions and made the appointments.

Those named - Dave Kronsteiner, Brady Scott, Caddy McKeown, Dan Smith and Jerry Hampel - are worthy individuals all. Our quibble is not that they were named; rather, it is about how they were chosen. The governor's back-door approach left the taxpayers in the port district out of the loop.

What those taxpayers lose in local control is supposed to be balanced by financial positives, such as low-interest loan opportunities inherent in being designated a state port. When's the last time the Port of Coos Bay got some positive financial reimbursement from the state? Are those loans available to port districts that elect their own board members? And will voters think having access to such opportunities is worth not having any say in who steers the port?

Those are just a few of the questions the new Port of Coos Bay Board of Commissioners should be focusing on as they take their seats on the board.

Or perhaps not. A board that asks hard questions about the port-state-governor trinity might not retain that important "optimal chemistry."